Media too dependent on public relations industry
The media often justifies intrusion into the private lives of celebrities on the grounds that those celebrities actively court the press when it suits them. And judging from the number of scantily clad celebrities promoting product on the pages of the Daily Mail they clearly have a case.
Under Paul Dacre’s editorship, that particular newspaper has become particularly dependent on the public relations industry for stories. In June the Daily Mail’s Paul Scott revealed that Peaches Geldof makes, ‘obscenely easy money’ using her minor celebrity to win her clients acres of coverage in the tabloids.
To some extent it matters little that Ultimo’s public relations people have an excellent relationship with the Daily Mail that enables them to build brand awareness by supplying the newspaper with photos with which to titillate readers. This soft news is of little consequence.
Yet the media is increasingly dependent on public relations for hard news too. Former crime reporter Nigel Green has revealed how one of Britain’s biggest police forces is able to manipulate crime reporting.
Green is rightly appalled to note that the police now play such a role in writing up the news on crime. But it is not the public relations industry that is at fault. The fault is with the newspaper industry which has failed to invest in journalism. Police spin doctors are simply filling the void with stories that promote thier employer’s agenda.
Comments (One comment)
I think the media as a whole has become to dependent on PR practitioners, they seem to lack a sense of urgency when it comes to getting a story and are quite happy to wait for the story to appear on there desk. Now there are certainly financial constraints that affect journalists nowadays but the ease at which they receive information from PR practitoners has perhaps not given them enough drive to fight for more rights and more money.
K McAuley / March 28th, 2010, 9:30 pm / #
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